Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter said a couple of weeks ago that, with the one scholarship remaining for this year's recruiting class, he wants either a point guard or a big man.
Right now, he should only be thinking big.
It's been obvious as Big Ten play progresses that the Hawkeyes lack an inside presence. Granted, forward Cyrus Tate has been out with a sprained ankle. But the Hawkeyes were already thin inside, literally (we'll get to that in a minute), and it has showed in conference play.
Iowa has been outrebounded by a 30-28 margin in Big Ten games, but it's a virtual tie — 29.3 for opponents to 29.0 for the Hawkeyes — overall.
Tate, a senior, won't be back next season, which means the Hawkeyes' frontcourt will consist of:
• Jarryd Cole, who has had a few solid outings this season as he continues to bounce back from knee surgery.
• David Palmer, who has come back to earth after two spectacular games against Purdue and Wisconsin.
• Aaron Fuller, who has been inconsistent as a freshman and needs to get stronger.
• Andrew Brommer, a freshman whose playing time has steadily decreased in recent weeks.
• Brennan Cougill, an untested incoming freshman who will give the Hawkeyes some bulk.
It would be nice for the Hawkeyes to find a shot-blocker/rebounder, but frankly, every Division I team can say that.
Still, it will be up to Lickliter to use that last scholarship wisely. His best move would be to find a big man.
THE STRENGTH FACTOR
At the risk of getting another scolding e-mail from someone within the Iowa athletic department for pointing out Iowa's strength deficiency, it is clear after watching the Hawkeyes get manhandled by Michigan State and Purdue for an entire game and by Penn State in the final minutes that they need to get stronger.
Players like Fuller and Jake Kelly were getting knocked around by the Spartans, and a pressing team like Purdue can get extremely physical.
It's the way of the Big Ten, and the Hawkeyes need to bulk up in the offseason.
"We need to get stronger," Lickliter said after Thursday's loss. "I think I've mentioned that before."
I know I have.
BIG WIN FOR WIU
Lost in the shuffle of Thursday's basketball was Western Illinois' 56-51 victory at UMKC.
Ceola Clark's putback with 12 seconds remaining capped the Leathernecks' comeback from a 16-point deficit.
The victory snapped the Leathernecks' six-game losing streak.
“This is a really big win because we lost so many games in a row," Western Illinois coach Jim Molinari said. "The most impressive thing Ceola (Clark) did was that he sat most of the second half and came in with a great attitude and was right on top of it and got that steal and laid it in.”
The Leathernecks are now 4-6 in Summit League play, locked in a four-way tie for fifth place heading into the second half of the league schedule. The top eight in the 10-team league advance to the conference tournament.
After Saturday's game at Southern Utah, the Leathernecks close conference play with five of their last seven games at home.